Avoiding Disaster on the Titanic

(4 min)tv-pg

In 1912, Titanic only had 37 seconds to avoid an iceberg. Why so little time, was it the lookouts that lacked binoculars, or that a ship can not make such quick turns? William Murdock investigates if Titanic's tragedy could have been avoided. Captain Charles Weeks teaches a course in the history of the Titanic at Maine Maritime Academy, where he challenges his students to seek the truth. Through experimentation, it is discovered that if the Titanic had a five hundred foot warning, it mostly likely could have avoided the iceberg and disaster that followed. A careful look at the lookouts, determines if it was their fault for the crash. The United States Senate launched an investigation into the lookouts where Frederick Fleet, a lookout, testified that he had asked for binoculars in the crows nest, but was informed that he did not need them. Was the sinking of the Titanic to blame on the lookouts or the navigation team, which selected the path of travel for the infamous ship.